Waste management is a severe and ever-increasing issue worldwide and is a matter of grave concern in India. Mumbai in India is the fifth most wasteful city in the world. According to research conducted by the World Bank, by the year 2025, India's daily waste is likely to touch 377,000 tonnes. Under this backdrop, it is crucial that we take and acknowledge initiatives around us that are making the world a better place.

Carbon Loops is a city-based start-up developed in 2017 as a measure to convert biodegradable waste into Biogas and Compost. It was perceived as a new venture to improve soil fertility, and by 2018 it was $5bn worth of industry globally. By the year 2019, Carbon Loops was helping in handling waste generated by over 65000 people every day and helped marginal farmers gain more than 2400 tonnes of organic compost.

In an exclusive interview with Kern Agarwal, the Co-Founder and Director of Carbon Loops shared the remarkable journey of closing the food wastage loop with Carbon Loops. Kern has completed an MBA from Loyola Institute of Business Administration, Chennai, India. He has previously worked at ICICI Bank and Naandi Foundation.

Please tell our readers about yourself? How did you find yourself fighting against waste management?

“Carbon Loops was incorporated as a Private Limited company in 2017 with Mr. Kern Luke Agrawal and his wife Ms. Ranjini P as directors. Together we have been working on creating a link between Waste Management and Sustainable Agriculture. Kern is an MBA graduate with four years of Banking experience in sales and marketing. Ranjini is also an ex-Banking professional with a deep understanding of Human Resource Management, Training, and Development.
During a village retreat in 2013, we experienced firsthand the struggles of small and marginal farmers. We could not accept that the people who grow our food sleep hungry on many nights. Additionally, there was absolutely no control/monitoring on the chemicals being used in agriculture. We came back with a decision to work on this situation.”

*Kern Agarwal and Ranjani Prabakaran- Co-Founders of Carbon Loops*

What are some fundamental projects undertaken by Carbon Loops that make you particularly proud?

“Corporates: We have provided an end-to-end waste management solution to an SEZ with 65 corporate manufacturing & IT companies at Chengalpet.

Government –We have installed a community-level Biogas Plant at Thiruvallur Panchayat and Sivaganga Panchayat in Tamil Nadu.

Institutions: We have installed Biogas plants at educational institutions producing huge food waste from their hostels. Loyola College & Stella Maris college in Chennai.

Hotels: We work with ITC Hotels in Chennai for their wet waste management.”

In simple terms, how would you educate our readers about waste management and its importance in the ecosystem?

“Moving away from this standard approach of landfills and burning, Carbon Loops has created a sustainable waste management program that addresses various forms of resources through an integrated transformation cycle, resulting in usable energy - electricity, transportation, and chemical-free food.
A state-of-the-art biogas plant can process food scraps in a hygienic and environmentally friendly way. The produced gas can be used as electricity or cooking gas. The slurry output from the biogas plant combined with dry leaves and garden scraps results in high-quality manure through composting. This compost can be used by farmers who are guided on the adoption of organic farming versus a chemical approach. Farm-fresh healthy produce from these non-chemical fields will come back to the city residents creating a closed-loop cycle of food.
By managing the organic waste, the other elements of waste like plastics, paper, metals, glass, etc., that can be recycled become much easier to manage. A whole new world of recycling unfolds, leading to a path of Zero waste.”

Why is waste management such a challenge in India? Is there anything special that India could learn from other nations?

“One of India’s biggest challenges is the treatment and disposal of Municipal solid waste. Due to the considerable volume of waste (estimated at >1,00,000 MT per day), the current disposal is primarily limited to landfills. This waste has resulted in severe groundwater contamination. If not dumped, it is burned, which is even worse, polluting our air. Due to the quantum and the cost involved in recycling, India’s waste dump is growing daily at an alarming rate. Petrol prices in many cities in India have crossed Rs. 100 per litre. Politics aside, crude oil is a finite resource. Keeping the climate damage that petroleum-based products are inflicting, there is an urgent need to develop alternative energy sources for our sustainability.”

Do you have any advice for people who would like to start practicing waste management at the individual level?

Start with segregating wet waste and dry waste.
Composting can help treat your wet waste and produce rich organic manure for growing essential plants.
Dry waste can be given to local kabbadiwalas, aggregators. Not for the economic value but more for the environmental value.

By Prerna Deep

Closing the Food Wastage Loop with Carbon Loops